The present invention is directed generally to a fishing plug and more particularly to an improved plug having a slot in the plug body for releasably receiving one hook portion of one, two or three treble hooks for space-efficient, tangle-free storage.
Fishermen typically carry many sizes and types of hooks, jigs, plugs and other artificial bait in an effort to have at hand the optimum lure for each fishing situation they encounter. Plugs of the type having one or more treble hooks pivotally suspended from a plug body cause storage problems because they take up a lot of room in the tackle box and tend to become tangled together. This contributes to inability to keep treble hooks from overlapping drawer separators, exceeding drawer heights and causing difficulties in closing the tackle box. Such tangling also contributes to disorder in the tackle box and makes it difficult to remove any individual plug, particularly when holding a rod or other gear so that only one hand is available for picking up the tangled plug.
The common solution in the prior art is to provide a tackle box with separate individual compartments for each plug. Whereas this affords, in part, an orderly solution, subject to the above-described shortcomings, it limits the number of plugs that can be conveniently carried or results in a tackle box of undue size.
Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide an improved fishing plug which requires less storage room.
Another object is to provide an improved fishing plug with means for releasably securing one or more treble hooks in stationary storage positions.
Another object is to provide an improved fishing plug having a slotted body for releasably receiving a hook portion of one or more treble hooks, thereby to reduce the size of the plug for storage and resist tangling of adjacent hooks.
Another object is to provide an improved fishing plug having a slotted body for releasably receiving a hook portion of one or more treble hooks, thereby to reduce the potential of treble hooks overlapping tray compartment edges and hampering the closing of the tackle box.
Another object is to provide an improved fishing plug having a slotted body for releasably receiving a hook portion of one or more treble hooks, thereby permitting the tying on of a lure without the interference of the loose treble hooks so as to stick the fisherman or tangle in the knot being made.
Another object is to provide an improved fishing plug having a slotted body for releasably receiving a hook portion of one or more treble hooks, thereby permitting the storage of loose treble hooks when removing the remaining hooks from fish so as to not rehook the fish or stick the fisherman.
Another object is to provide an improved fishing plug which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and efficient in operation.